The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) Conference Committee has announced that Thomas W. Derry, CEO of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM), will be a guest speaker at its upcoming 49th Management and Marketing Conference, slated Feb. 25-27 at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin, Texas. Derry will present a general session program for all attendees that will focus on global and North American economic trends and projections, particularly in the electronics industry. In keeping with the conference theme, “Tools of Our Trade – Constructing a Successful Future.” Derry will also recommend financial and/or economic resources that attendees can use to make specific decisions about their own businesses.

Barbara Jorgensen, managing editor of EPS News, is the member of the ERA Conference Committee who arranged for Derry’s appearance. She says, “As a business journalist, I’ve been covering ISM’s Report on Business® for years. ISM’s leading index, the PMI®, is widely regarded as the gold standard for manufacturing activity in the United States. The ISM provides one-on-one access to its experts with the release of each report, and I know many major media outlets rely on the PMI® as a key element in their business coverage. Tom Derry and his colleagues are among the most knowledgeable, balanced and accessible experts in the industry, and ERA Conference attendees are sure to walk away with information they can use in their daily business activities.”

ERA Conference Committee Chair Rick LaPiana of the Cain-Forlaw Company adds, “Our committee is thrilled that Tom Derry will be our economic update speaker. His credentials are impeccable and impressive, including his frequent interviews on macroeconomic and business conditions by the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNBC, Bloomberg Television and other business media. We are also very pleased that he wants to network with our attendees to gain their insights about our industry and will be providing us with advice about tools we can tap to make informed decisions for our businesses.”

About ERA
The 82-year-old Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) is the international trade organization for professional field sales companies in the global electronics industries, manufacturers who go to market through representative firms and global distributors. It is the mission of ERA to support the professional field sales function through programs and activities that educate, inform and advocate for manufacturers’ representatives, the principals they represent and the distributors who are reps’ partners in local territories. ERA member representative firms (often called “reps”) provide field sales services on an exclusive basis to manufacturers of related (but non-competing) products in a defined territory. For more information about ERA, visit era.org.